Carola Piña was ashamed to have visitors. The single mom and her two teenage sons shared a one-bedroom house with a collapsed sewage septic system that left them exposed to wastewater. “We just could not endure the stench,” she says. “Not us, not our neighbors.”
Water Currents is produced biweekly by USAID’s E3 Water Office. Each issue contains recent news and articles on water sector issues, partner and donor updates, latest sector research, and a special focus on one topic. Please provide your feedback and suggestions by contacting the waterteam@usaid.gov.
The provision of sustainable sanitation for all is one of the world’s most important development priorities, yet 4.5 billion people lack access to a safe toilet. Past efforts to provide greater sanitation access, such as direct government provision and full, blanket subsidies for toilets, have proven to be ineffective or unsustainable in many developing countries, prompting some to focus on market-based sanitation (MBS) as an alternative. However, market-based approaches have proven difficult to scale up.
A STEPPING STONE TO SECURITY
Diarrhoeal disease is the second leading cause of death in children under five years old. Handwashing with soap can reduce the risk of diarrhoeal disease by up to 48% but knowledge of its importance for disease prevention is not always reflected in practice.
Oxfam, Unilever's Lifebuoy soap and Unilever's Chief Sustainability Office have developed Mum's Magic Hands, an interactive approach based on storytelling which uses field tested, emotional and health motivators to promote effective hand washing in communities affected by emergencies.
The University of Colorado Boulder is holding its WASH Symposium on March 5–6, 2018. The symposium provides a platform for sharing and expanding knowledge in the field of water, sanitation, and hygiene in the context of development.
On September 26, the USAID-funded Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Partnerships and Learning for Sustainability (WASHPaLS) Project held this webinar and discussion on sanitation enterprises and design considerations. WASHPaLS presents a detailed discussion of the elements of a sanitation enterprise including mechanisms and practices, design approaches, and key considerations based upon the findings a recent WASHPaLS desk review.
Portia Persley, deputy director of the USAID Water Office is also a Toilet Board Coalition Steering Committee Member.
On August 22nd, 2018 at 6pm ET, the Global Handwashing Partnership, in conjunction with USAID, the International Water Center, the Water and Engineering Center for Development, and UNICEF hosted a discussion on the intersection of handwashing and the safe management of child feces.
November 19 marks World Toilet Day, an annual global event organized by UN Water to raise awareness of the crucial role that sanitation plays in reducing disease and creating healthier communities.
The theme of this year's observance is "Nature-Based Solutions" to harness the power of ecosystems to tackle the sanitation and water crisis. Nature-based solutions include:
